Kith and Kin
by Kinnaq
Summary: More than they are the Avengers, they are a family.


**Title:** Kith and Kin

**Summary:** More than they are the Avengers, they are a family.

00000

It is Natasha that is the first of the group to come to the realization and acceptance that the Avengers are more than the _Avengers_. Tony is the one to suggest that they all live in the same building, yes, but it is Natasha that decides that the five men on the Avengers are _her boys_ and starts acting accordingly. Natasha quickly becomes the mother-sister figure of the team, and the most feared in their small family _because_ she takes up that particular role—the woman has information on them that would put SHIELD to shame. The assassin isn't the _strongest_ in the practical terms the rest of the world judges them by, but to the Avengers, she is the one you never wanted to get mad at you.

Clint, of course, is soon to follow because where Natasha went, Clint follows and vice versa. If Natasha is the mother-sister, then Clint is the elder brother who seems to have an answer to everything, and is willing to help whoever needs it. Clint also ends up as the mediator within their family. His ability to look at things from a distance makes him the only one that isn't biased whenever dealing with their numerous problems. With his patience, Clint is also the one to deal with the media and press, since Tony can't really be trusted in the spotlight to not make a mess of things.

Thor is already starting to think of the individuals as worthy comrades in battle; the push to think of the Avengers as _kin_ is not very big at all, and although he pauses for a bit when he first thinks of them as siblings, it is a simple and easy change. Thor is the big brother, who although quite intelligent if slightly naïve, is quite easy to get along with. If Clint always has an answer to everything, then it was Thor who makes everything simpler to understand by asking the correct questions. If everyone else thinks of Thor as a child due to his foreign ways, then it is entirely their own fault if Thor steamrolls right over them; the demigod _is_ a prince and quite keen in politics.

Tony is the one to extend the invitation to live in Avengers Tower, having already started tailoring the Tower for each individual, but it isn't until he wakes up one morning and realizes that he's gotten used to everyone's little habits and spends his day working around them, that it is easy for him to make things to help them in the field as well as for leisure, and that it is easy for him to allow everyone in, that Tony realizes he has found a family. Tony isn't any one thing, because that means trying to understand him, and the world knows that's impossible, because he's Tony Stark. The others are perfectly all right in letting the think that.

Steve is the one to first think that the Avengers could be a family given enough time, with the memories of the Howling Commandos backing him up, but he doesn't particularly _want_ to find a new family; he is still mourning his first. It isn't until he realizes that he has taken up making sure that everyone is healthy, fed, and taken care of, often without realizing it, that Steve decides that he's mourned enough and focuses everything on his new family. With Natasha, Steve takes over the role of 'parent' to look out for the unruly 'children,' and often has conversations about such with the assassin. Steve is more often than not a background character in the media, but he is very much at the forefront within.

Bruce doesn't particularly think of them quite as much as family than as close friends he'd do anything for. Bruce doesn't get along with people; he has always been a bit mean, even before the accident, and often has trouble focusing on people rather than science due to the Other Guy. Yes, they are his best friends, and yes, he would go up against the world for them, but it takes the combined efforts of the others to make him realize that they don't particularly care that he has green anger management issues. Steve and Natasha quickly claim Bruce as their older brother, making him the uncle of the rest of the family.

And Hulk? Hulk is the overemotional little brother with a penchant for smashing things—and everyone of them would be lying if they said that they don't sometimes wish that they'd have an excuse for going on a Mission of Wanton Destruction. Besides, Steve, being a soldier that _does_ have actual missions under his belt for kill and destroy, notices that Hulk does have Bruce's intelligence, even if he only uses that intelligence to find the _easiest_ ways to destroy things. If they notice that Hulk often looks to them for guidance when Hulk thinks that they're not paying any particular attention to him, they don't make any comments.

So, yes, they are family. And they'd never want to be anything else.


End file.
